


the crossroads of identity

by StopIWantToTalkAboutCheese



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Child Abuse, Experimentation, Mild Gore, Mother-Child Relationship, Regeneration, Time Travel, Unethical Experimentation, i mean there's no proof this DIDNT happen...., i mean this is dw after all, spoilers in the tags! beware, technically canon compliant, what if river song found the doctor when they were still being experimented on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StopIWantToTalkAboutCheese/pseuds/StopIWantToTalkAboutCheese
Summary: After the night on Darillium, River Song sets the coordinates on her Vortex Manipulator, pushes the button... and winds up somewhere completely unfamiliar.Soon, she discovers that she is on Gallifrey, in the time before the Time Lords, and her only guides are a friendly stranger- and a cold woman named Tecteun...
Relationships: The Doctor/River Song
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> lmao welcome to the billionth river song-centric fic titled "spoilers"  
> I had to write some of this on my phone because my computer broke, so if you see any typos, feel free to point them out- I promise I won't be offended!

Darillium and it’s long, long night of twenty-four years had seemed like a dream to River. The Doctor has been handsome, and wonderful, and everything River could possibly ask for.

Hence why it felt like a dream. That couldn’t have been real, could it? 

River couldn’t have possibly, really, _actually_ have had the Doctor, all to herself, for all that time. That was ridiculous, the Doctor wouldn’t do that, not even for her. No Eyebrows was too flighty, and even Yes Eyebrows had a tendency to wander off. There was no way he’d spent twenty four years devoted to her, with nothing driving them apart and no Spoilers to weigh them both down… 

Well, no Spoilers except for _The_ Spoiler. That was what River called it, capital letters and all: _The_ Spoiler. She had no idea what it was, but it was there, lurking in the Doctor’s eyes, every single time they met, that told her that he knew something. Something big. And, for whatever reason, his timeline was always ahead of hers in that sense. Even when he’d barely had any idea of who she was, he’d known her, every single time they’d met, he’d known something. He’d known her.

He had always known her.

But their last few moments together… River didn’t know what to make of it.

“I have to go to the Library now,” she’d told him, at the end of that night, and the Doctor had looked at her with that infinitely old, infinitely sad gaze. 

“Be careful,” he’d said.

“I always am,” River had said with a grin.

“I love you,” he’d said.

She had paused, then. His voice had sounded so heavy, so ancient. Usually, she would let it go, but for once, her curiosity got the best of her. Maybe it was the grief of the end of twenty-four years. Maybe it was the look in his eyes, that silent, untouchable specter in his expression that followed them for as long as she had known him. 

“Does something happen?” 

His lips had twitched slightly, and this body so rarely smiled, so she smiled back.

“Spoilers,” he’d said.

And then he was gone.

River, meanwhile, had gotten a notification from some old friends of hers– something about a Library and missing people. That was all well and good, and River was excited to get started, if nothing else than to get that infuriating man out of her head.

But her Vortex Manipulator, which River forgot had broken somewhere around the thirteenth year on Darillium, had other plans.

River had set the coordinates correctly– she knew she had. She didn’t make dumb mistakes like that. There wouldn’t be a single number out of place. She _knew_ that. 

So it was right around the moment when she opened her eyes after a shrieking, rough landing (one that would have made the Doctor proud, with the way he threw his poor TARDIS around day in and day out) that she remembered dropping it off one of the singing towers, straight into a cavern and onto the rocks below.

This memory was triggered mostly by the sudden appearance of a planet very different from the one she was intending to see.

She had landed in a field.

One with red grass. Silver trees. A wide orange sky.

And in the distance, there was a clump of dazzling towers.

It didn’t take a genius to know where she was.

Gallifrey.

The Doctor had told her about it many times, but she had never seen it in person.

“Well,” she’d said out loud, excitement beginning to tingle in her gut. “This is interesting.”

* * *

River had spent what felt like years trekking through the red fields.

The air smelled vaguely metallic, the silver on the trees was blinding, the air was thick and oppressive, and privately River thought that Gallifrey must have been an absolutely terrible place to live.

No wonder the Doctor had left.

She kept walking, but as she drew closer to the buildings, a shapeless blob at the base slowly took form.

It was a crowd– a crowd of Gallifreyans.

Ignoring the little thrill of excitement in her chest at seeing other Time Lords, and a whole group of them at that, River hurried to get closer.

The people were mostly milling around silently– an eerie sight– but River knew a protest when she saw one. She’d been part of (and occasionally the cause of) her fair share.

Some of the people were even holding signs, and their loud messages contrasted bizarrely with the mostly-silent group. 

_Barbarism!_ one read. _Free the child!_ another shouted. _Down with the doctor!_ a third blared.

_The Doctor?_ Were they talking about River’s Doctor, or some other doctor altogether?

As she pondered the question, that’s when River saw _her_.

A woman, edging along the side of the building.

Her hair was graying, and her face was severe, and she was wearing the same red flowing clothing as everyone else in the crowd, but there was something odd about it. The clothing had a _slightly_ different shade– a bit lighter than the others’ clothes, as if it were older, more faded.

She obviously did not want to be seen, which was probably why she had caught River’s eye.

As River watched intently, the woman glanced around furtively before ducking into the building, letting the door swing shut behind her.

Ah.

Well, that almost certainly meant trouble.

And where there was trouble, especially trouble on _Gallifrey_ between _Time Lords,_ the Doctor almost certainly not be far behind.

Quietly, River stole after the woman, being sure to stick to the shadows to avoid the strange protest, and slipped into the building.

The hall was dark, but tall. River sensed more than saw a cavernous, empty space above her head, but kept her eyes on the woman as she vanished down the hallways. River hurried after her.

The problem with River’s plan was mostly that she had no idea what the Doctor happened to look like at the moment. It could be an incarnation that she knew– the fez-wearing, mop-toting giraffe, or the angry eyebrows and poof of gray hair, or the one she’d glimpsed a few times in pictures, with spiky brown hair and sad eyes– but it was much likelier it would be someone she’d had no previous interactions with.

Oh, well.

She just needed to find someone who looked likely enough to be mixed up in his mess, someone who was probably sweaty and on the verge of a panic attack, and ask them to give her directions to the nearest ridiculously dressed time traveler.

Satisfied with her plan, River turned the corner– and stared.

Right there, on a plaque on a door, was a sign.

_THE DOCTOR._

Oh.

Well.

That was easy. 

Usually he made it much harder for her to find him.

River pushed the door open and found herself in a sort of waiting room, if normal waiting rooms had vaulted ceilings and multiple arches. Tall windows allowed bright light to filter through curtains. Wooden panels gave the room a weirdly homey feel, despite its gargantuan size. The floor was wooden and creaky. There was also an ornate wooden desk in the frontmost part of the room, and River felt her eyes being naturally drawn to it.

There was a man sitting at the desk.

He was young, and dark-skinned, wearing the same dark red, flowing pants and shirt as everyone was, only he seemed to have a golden cape fastened to his shoulders. He also had a cheerful expression that complemented his bright eyes– a sharp contrast to the protestors’ grim faces.

She didn’t know him, and her stomach plunged for half a second. What if this was their first meeting? What if he couldn’t help with the Manipulator?

“Hello,” he said, with a dazzling smile, effectively cutting off her train of thought. “Always nice to see a new face!”

“Hello,” she returned, offering the man a tight smile. “Are you the Doctor?”

He blinked slowly, but his friendly smile barely flickered. He let out a small laugh. “No, thank all the gods. I’m just the assistant. That’s what everyone calls me, the Assistant.” He paused, and then bafflement grew on his face. “Um. And you are?”

“River,” she said, feeling her lips twitch in spite of herself. “Professor River Song.” She glanced around. “Ahem– and I might be in the wrong place– but where _is_ your Doctor?”

“Do you mean the scientist?” he said.

“Probably not,” River said, “but I’d like to meet them, anyway.”

“Her,” the Assistant said, and a ghost of pride flickered across his face. “My mother.”

“Ah,” River said. So it really _hadn’t_ been that easy. Story of her life. “We’re definitely not thinking of the same person, then.”

The Assistant looked crushed. 

“Um, but I would love to meet her anyway,” River said quickly, mentally rolling her eyes at herself even as she followed the now-cheered young man behind the desk, through another door, and into the tallest hallways she’d ever stepped foot in. Only twenty-five years ago, she would not have been _quite_ so susceptible to somebody else’s disappointment.

She had gone soft, living with the Doctor. A sucker for puppy-dog eyes, that was what River Song had become. Her old associates at Stormcage could never hear about this.

The Assistant’s cape fluttered as he led her through the winding hallways.

“Quick question,” River said, “Have you seen anyone dressed oddly around here?”

The Assistant’s brow furrowed. “No, sorry,” he’d said. “Everyone here wears a uniform. Why?”

“I’m looking for someone,” River said. _My husband,_ she almost said. Almost. “How about a blue box that looks like a police box? Or any strange-looking TARDIS?”

“TARDIS?” the Assistant echoed. “Sounds made up. Is that a word in some language? I’m afraid I don’t know it.”

Slowly, River stopped walking. The Assistant paused, and looked back at her, blinking in confusion. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“I… might have the wrong planet,” River said, mind whirling. “This is Gallifrey, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” he said.

“And you’re a Time Lord?”

He grinned, then. “Maybe you _do_ have the wrong planet,” he said. “I’ve never heard of a ‘Time Lord’, but to be honest it sounds like a ridiculous name. I’m a Shobogan.”

“But…” River had not felt this confused in a very, very long time. “Hold on. The Shobogans were– oh, no.”

The Shobogans were the original inhabitants of Gallifrey. They were the ones to discover time travel and regeneration. Rassilon and Omega had worked on and discovered the secrets of time travel and regeneration. They were hailed as nigh-gods. 

And it was said that every single Shobogan was now dead.

Had River accidentally gone back to a time _before time travel?_ Oh, this could be bad. This could be really, really bad. River made sure her Vortex Manipulator was fastened tightly to her wrist. She couldn’t allow anyone to steal it.

“We’re here!” The Assistant chirped. “Hold on a moment.” He ducked through a side door, and River was left outside to wait.

A time before time travel… River could hardly believe it. You weren’t supposed to go back so far– it could land you in Stormcage for a thousand years, if not longer. Time traveling agencies took that _very_ seriously.

Ooh, she could get into so much trouble for this.

The clicking of an opening door distracted her, and River turned to see the Assistant, leading an older woman out into the hallway.

But it wasn’t just any woman.

It was _the_ woman. The one River had seen outside and followed into the building.

That did it. She would have to come up with an excuse to stick around. She had to find out more about this strange time, about this bizarre world. River didn’t often feel like an alien, but today she felt it more than ever.

Still, she plastered a smile on her face and offered a hand. The woman took it solemnly.

“I’m Tecteun,” the unsmiling scientist said. “My son tells me you need my help.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River meets Tecteun, and discovers a horrible secret...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof this has been a long time coming. sorry about that. promise im not dead.
> 
> also, please note title change

“Professor River Song,” River said smoothly, shaking Tecteun’s hand. “I do need some help, actually.”

She offered Tecteun the Vortex Manipulator, and the scientist took it, examining the leather-wrapped device closely.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Tecteun said. “What is it?”

“Um. A device.” Why hadn’t she thought of a better cover? “It travels through space.”

“Fascinating,” Tecteun murmured.

She flipped the Manipulator over and showed it to the Assistant. “Make a note of this, Assistant.” 

“Yes, Doctor Tecteun,” the Assistant said calmly. He didn’t make any motion to write it down, but River knew better than to assume. It was one of the things you learned while travelling through time and space: never, ever assume you knew what somebody else was doing.

“Think you can fix it?” River asked hopefully. 

Tecteun blinked down at it. “I can try,” she said. “Come in.”

She backed away, allowing River and the Assistant to come into the room.

It was spacious, like everything else in the building, and had the same vaulted ceilings as the hallways and entrance room, and seemed to be lined with tables and all sorts of interesting-looking experiments, but what drew River’s eye was the chair.

In the center of the room there was what looked like a dentist’s chair, or a surgical table, except there were leather straps that looked like they were designed to strap somebody firmly down. She shuddered upon seeing it and made a mental note to get out of there as soon as possible.

Tecteun hurried to one of the tables with the Vortex Manipulator, fussing with it and muttering to herself.

Left with nothing to do, River glanced over at the Assistant. “Did you see the protests out there?” she asked.

“Oh… yes,” he said, fidgeting a bit. “Not sure what they want. I don’t get out much.”

“They seemed to be a bit angry with your mother.”

“Ah,” he said uncomfortably. “Well, not sure what they want. You know, it– it does take quite a bit to stir a Shobogan to come and protest… we’re a rather solitary species.” He hummed nervously. “So, what– what species are you?”

“Me?” River blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re clearly not a Shobogan,” he said. “I’ve never seen an instrument like yours before.”

“Well… I’m mostly human,” River said, ignoring the opportunity for an inappropriate joke. She wasn’t sure how he would take it. “Ever heard of us?”

“Never,” he said. “Where are you from?”

“Me? It’s complicated. Humans? Planet called Earth.”

“ _Earth,_ ” he echoed. “Never heard of it.”

“It’s a nice place. You should visit sometime.”

“Maybe I should,” he said.

“Where are _you_ from? Like, what part of the planet were you born on?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” he said. “Too young to remember. I was a refugee. Doctor Tecteun took me in, and I traveled with her quite a lot when I was younger.”

“Oh? Where’d you go?”

He gave an embarrassed grin. “I actually don’t remember. Too many head injuries, I think.”

River raised her eyebrows. “How many head injuries have you _had?”_

“A lot, according to the Doctor,” he said. “I don’t remember most of them.”

“Sounds awful.”

“Enh,” he shrugged. “I’m happy.”

“...All right,” River said, and they sat in agreeable silence for a moment as Tecteun continued to tinker away at the Vortex Manipulator.

“So… the protest,” River said. “You mean you’re not curious? At all?”

The Assistant looked askance at Tecteun. “I mean…”

“Come on,” she said. “You know nothing about it except that it’s about your mother. You have to be a bit curious.”

“I mean, I suppose,” the Assistant said reluctantly.

River offered him a grin. Was this how the Doctor felt, with his companions, just leading the way and letting people follow in your wake? It was glorious. “Well, come on, then. Let’s–”

“Incredible!” Tecteun suddenly blurted out from across the lab. “It… the code that’s written here… Assistant! Come here, now!”

The Assistant hurried over, River on his heels.

The Assistant peered over Tecteun’s shoulder and gasped. “But this– this–”

“This code could solve the temporal problem completely!” Tecteun said, and River’s brain set off several alarm bells.

“Temporal?” she said quickly. 

She should have never let Tecteun look at the Manipulator! Ooh, if she messed up the Doctor’s past, she could… probably definitely destroy the entire universe. Oh, no. She would have to fix this, fast.

She took a few quick steps forwards and snatched the Manipulator off the table, ignoring the Assistant’s yelp and Tecteun’s sharp “Put that back!”

“It’s _mine_ ,” River said, offended. “I’ll do what I want with it.”

“How much?” Tecteun said immediately. Her eyes were fixed hungrily on the Vortex Manipulator. 

Suddenly, River was certain that she had made a mistake in letting Tecteun look at the Manipulator. The look on Tecteun’s face– River had seen it on many, many people in her lifetime. It was the look of somebody who would do absolutely anything to get their hands on something they wanted. 

River gripped the Manipulator tighter.

“It’s not for sale,” River said coldly.

Tecteun glared at her. “I don’t think you understand. That piece of technology could put us leaps and bounds ahead of our competitors. That thing… it looks like it can travel through time.”

A thrill of ice-cold fear went through River’s veins. She had messed everything up. Screw her own curiosity, she had to get off this planet. “I’m not selling it.”

For a moment, River was certain Tecteun would take a swing at her, but–

“Mother,” the Assistant said, swiftly stepping in between River and Tecteun, “erm, shouldn’t we… try to focus on our other project, instead?”

Tecteun blinked, and straightened up. She seemed to take a moment to refocus on her assistant, taking her attention off River and (thankfully) off of the Vortex Manipulator.

“I… I suppose we’ll have to deal with one major scientific breakthrough at a time,” Tecteun said wistfully, every trace of hostility strangely gone. “But you’ll let me take a look at it later?”

“Sure,” River said with no intentions of following through on that promise as she strapped her Vortex Manipulator back on. Tecteun seemed satisfied, though.

“Come, Assistant,” she said, clicking her fingers as she strode towards the center of the room. “It’s time for our biweekly experiment.”

“Yes, Doctor Tecteun,” the Assistant said obediently, trotting after her. He turned to grin at River. “Would you like to come watch?”

“Watch what?” River asked cautiously, still trying to recover from the mental whiplash of Tecteun’s odd mood swings.

“The Doctor’s been working on this experiment to siphon energy from me,” he said. “It’s very interesting. It could lead to– well, to world peace! To galaxy-wide health! Immortality, even! It’s incredible, really.”

“Immortality?” River echoed. “How?”

Tecteun waved her hands around, flapping them wildly. “It’s only a theory, only a theory– it’s unlikely it will lead to _true_ immortality.”

Immortality, but not true immortality? Hmm. That certainly sounded familiar. And combined with the obsession with time travel, and being Shobogan… 

“What is it?” River asked.

“Come and see!” the Assistant offered cheerfully, and Tecteun shook her head indulgently.

“You’re welcome to come look, Professor Song,” she said as she walked towards the chair.

River caught the Assistant’s arm before he could follow. “Wait,” she said. “I need to tell me if you know anyone that goes by Rassilon or Omega.”

“No,” he said. “Sorry. Friends of yours?”

“Never met them before,” River replied as the Assistant paused at the chair. “So, how does this work?”

“Well, for the sake of our guest, we’ll be strictly working _only_ on minor injuries today,” Tecteun said briskly. “No need to terrify anyone today with our… _usual_ work.”

River lifted her eyebrows. “I’m sure I could handle it.”

Tecteun shrugged, as if to say _Whatever you want,_ and lifted a knife out of one of the drawers. Despite herself, River took a step backwards, but Tecteun didn’t even look at her.

“Strap yourself in,” she said to the Assistant, who nodded and sat in the chair, keying in a code. Beside him, several screens lit up, displaying his vital signs. There was something on the screen that set off an alarm bell somewhere in River’s brain, but before she could think about it too hard, the Assistant flipped the screens to face Tecteun on his other side. 

As River watched, the Assistant started snapping the restraints on around his wrists, chest, and ankles.

“Um,” River said, and the Assistant grinned up at her.

“Don’t worry,” he said cheerfully. “This is only a precaution.”

“A precaution for _what?”_

Tecteun walked back over and paused by the chair. “Stand back,” she said to River, and then, without further warning, lifted the knife and brought it down swiftly and harshly on the Assistant’s arm.

Blood sprayed everywhere, and River leaped to her feet. “Oh, my god!” 

She rushed to his side, suddenly cursing the fact that she didn’t have bandages on her. Where was her sonic?

Blood was beginning to leak in earnest out of the Assistant’s forearm. River’s hands hovered over it, unsure of what to do. He was grimacing, and Tecteun was watching calmly. The Assistant hadn’t made a sound.

“We have to stop the bleeding!” River cried, pressing her hands to the gash. She whipped her head around to glare at Tecteun. “What were you _thinking?”_

“Stand back,” Tecteun said. “We don’t need to melt anyone’s skin off today.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” River demanded. She started tearing a strip of cloth off her shirt. “ _Help me._ Your son could bleed out!”

“I won’t,” the Assistant piped up, and it suddenly occurred to River that he was just sitting there calmly, letting his blood drip onto the floor. “Watch.”

Breathing hard, River looked down at the cut. Red was still gushing, but… now that she looked closer… 

There were wisps of golden energy, wafting gently off of the wound. There was the sound of crackling energy, and a strong smell of ozone filled the air.

What in the world?

Wait…

River knew that golden energy.

She knew it intimately.

“You’re trying to _regenerate?”_ she cried.

The crackling of electricity died down. The Assistant slumped, breathing hard. The energy coalesced around his arm, surrounding it in a shimmering mist, but his form remained unchanged. 

River realized she was holding her gun. When had she taken it out? She wasn’t sure, but now was not the time to figure that out.

“What’s ‘regenerate’?” The Assistant wheezed. 

“What you just did!” River pointed the gun at him, and he froze. “What– how–?”

“We call it ‘renewal’,” Tecteun said, “although… ‘regeneration’ does have a nice ring to it.”

“What’s going on?” River snapped. 

Tecteun went silent. 

River grasped the gun tighter. _“Answer me!”_

“We work for the Division,” the Assistant said, eyeing River’s gun warily. “Please, we’re only trying to help people–”

“He’s the only person I know of who can do this,” Tecteun said at the same time. 

“What on earth do you mean, he’s the _only person–”_ River froze. _Wait._

Something had obviously gone very, very wrong. Rassilon and Omega, the original inventors of regeneration, were nowhere to be found. There were people outside protesting– but why? And the Assistant hadn’t known what Time Lords were.

But how…?

_The War._

The Time War _must_ have something to do with this. Maybe a young Gallifreyan had somehow been thrown back in time, before Omega and Rassilon, and kickstarted the beginning of regeneration too early. It was possible. It was very possible.

The Assistant had said he was a refugee. He had said he was too young to know where he’d come from. And he’d begun to regenerate, right there in front of her.

Oh, God, had she stumbled on something she was never meant to see? Had the Shobogans, however accidentally, stolen the power of regeneration from the Time Lords?

“But _Time Lords_ can regenerate,” River said slowly. “The entire species can.”

The Assistant paused, and momentary confusion passed over his face. “I still don’t know what a Time Lord is,” he said, “but– that doesn’t matter. River, please. With this power, we could become so much more than simple travelers. We could become immortal! All of us could be!”

Tecteun was watching River from behind the Assistant, glaring right through her as if River was another science project she could dissect.

“This is wrong,” River said. “This is not the way things are meant to be. The Time Lords were given their ability to regenerate, you can’t just reverse-engineer that! Especially not– not the way you were doing it!” The Assistant’s blood was still puddled on the floor, and River’s stomach swooped with nausea. “He’s your son. It’s wrong. You can’t do it like this.”

“Of course I can,” Tecteun said, looking mildly surprised, like she and River were having a mere intellectual debate instead of this absolute horror show. “I study the Assistant’s regenerations, and I take notes, and I do experiments.”

“His– regenerations?” River said blankly. “What do you mean, _his regenerations?_ He only has twelve! You can’t just waste them on a whim!”

Tecteun rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where you got your information,” she said, “but it’s wrong. The Assistant has already regenerated many, many times with me. More than twelve for certain.”

“What– _how many?”_

“I believe the total is somewhere around eight hundred and forty– eight hundred and forty-two, I think,” Tecteun said casually, and River’s mind stuttered and came to a standstill.

“Eight hundred and forty two?” she said weakly. _“Eight hundred and forty two?”_

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

River felt like her brain was melting. “But that’s impossible!”

“Eight hundred and forty two?”

The new voice surprised River, and she turned to see the Assistant, having unstrapped himself from the chair and stood, staring at Tecteun in confusion.

“You’ve killed me _over eight hundred times?”_ he said in disbelief. “I thought– I thought–”

“Oh, yes, you wouldn’t remember,” Tecteun hummed. “I do have to wipe everything if I get a body that’s too… difficult.”

“ _Difficult?_ ” the Assistant cried. “What do you mean, _difficult?_ ”

“Rebellious,” River said numbly. “She means too rebellious.”

The Doctor told her all about Gallifrey. He told her the good and the bad. About Rassilon and Omega.

He never told her about a woman named Tecteun.

But why? Why, why, why?

Tecteun clearly wasn’t the sort of person to keep her accomplishments quiet. She wanted to be known, she wanted the secrets of the universe and she wanted to exploit them. But why wouldn’t the Doctor ever mention her, even in passing? Why would there be no mention of her in history books? 

Why had River never heard of this woman before?

And there was something else, something very important that she needed to look at.

River marched up to the chair, ignoring Tecteun’s protests, and swung the screen around to face her.

Unfortunately, it was all in Gallifreyan.

Again, something about the screen set off multiple alarms in River’s brain, but she couldn’t focus. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath.

Slowly, carefully, River started deciphering the text. 

She could feel Tecteun’s disdainful gaze, and the Assistant’s worried one, but River had always been a fast reader. She only needed a few seconds–

Wait.

That couldn’t be right. 

The data on the screen was identical to _the Doctor’s_ results, which was so strange and unexpected River was suddenly certain she had read it wrong. It wasn’t her first language, after all. But still– brain waves, motor function, IQ– those were all equal with her husband’s. Some things were different, like coordination, and height, and blood type– but the similarities were… eerie.

Rolling her eyes, River reread the statement. Had she been missing her husband so much she had misread the Assistant’s vital signs as his?

The report didn’t change. It didn’t even flicker.

...Well, that was odd.

River reread it a third time, and a fourth, and she could sense Tecteun’s impatience growing.

But she couldn’t look away.

River had made a mistake. She had to have.

But… the vital signs… they were familiar. They were very familiar. How could they not be? She had probably seen them more times than she had seen her own.

_They matched the Doctor’s._

But that was impossible. It was _impossible_. 

River could feel herself going into shock. She slowly turned to face the Assistant. 

No. Surely, she was being ridiculous. Anyone could have the same IQ, anyone’s brain waves could be similar, anyone’s results could be similar.

But still… 

No. It was impossible. _Impossible._

But the extra regenerations… eight hundred and forty two extra regenerations… 

And where did Tecteun fit into this?

Unless.

Unless… 

River fumbled, clawing at her pockets. Scanner. Scanner. 

_Where is it, goddammit?_

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only a fraction of a second, River snatched up her scanner, whirled, and pointed it straight at Tecteun.

Conscious retina. Low body temperature. Extra ribs. No lungs. Two hearts. 

Two hearts. 

Two hearts. 

Two hearts. 

Oh, God.

“What species did you say you were, again?” River asked weakly.

“Shobogan,” Tecteun said, for once looking as bemused as River felt. “Why?”

River swore. She had not felt this out of her depth in a long, long time. Nothing that was happening here made any sense.

Had the Doctor lied to her? Why? Why would he lie about this? Why would he hide it? It made _no sense._

He was a secretive man. River knew he kept things secret, even from her.

But nothing this important. Right?

The Assistant tilted his head at her, in that way she’d seen so many times before, and River felt her stomach drop; felt her insides roil with nausea.

He couldn’t… he couldn’t be…

“You’re the Doctor,” she said out loud, stunned.

Was this it? Was this The Spoiler? Was this the first time they really, truly met, from the Doctor’s perspective?

How could that be?

It didn’t make sense to River.

But this had to be it, didn’t it?

_Hello, Sweetie…_

“The Doctor?” The Assistant echoed, breaking River’s train of thought. “Doctor who?”

River opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment, there was a sharp _hiss_ , and River ‘s attention was suddenly on Tecteun, who was fiddling with two rods on either side of the chair.

River stepped forwards. “What are you doing?”

Tecteun glanced up. “Electrocution,” she said calmly. “You said you could handle our usual work, well, here it is. Been getting bored of his face, and at this point, he's seen too much anyway. Get back in the chair, Assistant.”

“No,” the Assistant said. “No, I– no way! How many times have you taken my memories?”

Tecteun just glared at him. “Does it even matter?” she said.

The Assistant drew himself up. “Yes! It does! I– I can’t be expected to work with you, to give up my _life_ for you, if I don’t even know what you’ve done to me!”

“Well, it isn’t going to matter, because I’m going to do it again, and again, and again until I have what I need,” Tecteun said. “Do you know how many times you’ve gone self-righteous on me? Do you know how many times you’ve tried to run? _Do you know how long you’ve spent here with me?_ No. You don’t. And you don’t know how many times I’ve had to _remind_ you that we were doing this for the good of our people! We’re doing this to end sickness, to end pain, to end _death itself!_ This is a worthy cause, and you turn from it every single time!”

“The protest outside,” the Assistant managed, looking nauseated. River grabbed his hand, and he clutched at it tightly. 

“The protest!” Tecteun rolled her eyes. “Know how they know you’re in here? _You told them._ You made some friends, I hear. And now they wouldn’t even recognize you, and you wouldn't recognize them, either. You could walk right past them and neither of you will ever know it.”

The Assistant was sweating, and his eyes were pained, but he forged ahead, keeping River’s hand in a death grip. “The protestors… they don’t even want our gift!”

“ _My_ gift,” Tecteun said, and there was something new in her voice. “I don’t need you anymore.”

The Assistant blinked. “What?”

Tecteun smiled at him, then whirled and grabbed the two live conductors on either side of the chair.

“No!” The Assistant screamed.

Lightning raced up Tecteun’s body. The smell of burning flesh and hair filled the air. Tecteun screamed as the electricity clawed and tore into her, as her clothes burned away, as her skin began to melt–

And then there was a familiar sound.

The _woosh,_ the faint chimes, the howl of agony changing, twisting into something triumphant… and a new light began to emerge from Tecteun’s body.

Unlike the bright white of the lightning, this light was golden.

Tecteun had done it.

She had taught herself to regenerate.

She could hear the Assistant whimpering in awe beside her, and somewhere in River’s stupefied brain, some synapses or neurons or _something_ made the connection: the Assistant– Tecteun’s _son_ – was now, all of a sudden, in very real danger.

Tecteun couldn’t use him anymore.

Worse, Tecteun _didn’t need_ to use him anymore.

For Tecteun, the Assistant had gone from proud wingman to potential whistleblower in the span of seconds, and River was caught right in the middle of it.

As the bright golden energy started to fade and a new silhouette started to take shape in Tecteun’s place, River did what any reasonable person would do.

She gripped the Assistant’s hand tightly, turned around, and ran for her life.

“Run!” she yelled over her shoulder when he stumbled.

There were heavy footsteps behind them, and River stole a glance behind her to see a man, young, big, strong, and with no fear in his eyes.

Tecteun.

He could be the Assistant’s twin.

There was definitely something twisted in that.

“Keep going!” she yelled to the Assistant. “Don’t look back!”

He ran, and River was on his heels.

They burst out of the room and into the tall hallway. The Assistant dashed to the left, and River followed. 

The twisting, cavernous hallways seemed to stretch on forever. 

River could feel her blood roaring in her ears. 

Their pounding footsteps were joined by a third’s, and River sped up, heart hammering. 

Tecteun wasn’t far behind.

The thrill of the chase never ceased to excite River, but right now, dread was building in her gut. 

What were they going to _do?_

* * *

After what felt like forever, they took refuge behind a wall, the third set of footsteps behind them having momentarily faded. The Assistant was breathing hard, and River wasn’t much better. Panic drained you quickly.

“Why–” the Assistant was stammering, wide-eyed, on the verge of tears. “Why– why– why– why–” He couldn’t go on.

“We have to _go,_ ” River said urgently.

He just stared at the wall.

“She can’t have you going around and ruining her reputation,” River said to the Assistant, who seemed lost, adrift in a hurricane that he had no way of navigating. “Hey!” She clicked her fingers at him, and he snapped to attention. “Listen to me. She's going to come after you, and probably me, too. We have to get out of here.”

The Assistant’s hands were shaking. One of his sleeves had been ripped almost completely off, and somewhere in the chaos, he had lost his cape.

“She– _he_ –” he stammered. “That– that was–” He was hyperventilating, and River could see tears building in his eyes.

“Breathe,” River ordered the Assistant, and he gulped in air. He ducked his head to swipe at his cheeks, and River felt a pang of sympathy.

“The protest,” she said. “Can we find someone–?”

“No,” he said. “She was right– if she was telling the truth about me making friends– we still wouldn’t know each other.”

“But we can try,” River said fiercely. “It’s the only chance we’ve got.”

The Assistant looked at her though tear-filled eyes, and then, slowly, nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” River said. “Lead the way, I'm turned around and we need to get outside.”

“Okay,” he said again, and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“All right,” River said, “so when I said _outside_... I meant…”

“I know,” the Assistant said.

“Well, at least it’s got a view.”

River and the Assistant had somehow managed to find themselves on a balcony, a few hallways down from Tecteun’s office. The Assistant had run out onto it and froze, looking around wildly, and River had followed him, and now they were both panting, taking in lungfuls of the cool air. On the ground, miles and miles of grass stretched as far as the eye could see, and billions of stars twinkled in the sky.

Unfortunately, they were also a couple hundred feet in the air.

“Do you know how to get to the protesters from here?” River asked, trying very hard to be patient.

“Um,” the Assistant said. “I thought I did. I… I’m panicking. Not thinking straight. I’m sorry.”

“So, we’re lost,” River said.

“Yeah,” The Assistant said, staring off the balcony.

“Do you know where else we can go? Tecteun’s been gone for the past couple of minutes, but she’s not going to be gone forever.”

“I– I’ve lived here all my life,” The Assistant said, staring bleakly at the walls. “Or at least as long as I can remember. I swear, I thought I knew where–”

River threw her hands in the air. _“Time Lords,”_ she said disgustedly. “Your TARDISes are poorly designed, too, you know that? Who makes all of the hallways look the exact same?”

“We can still try to get outside.”

“How? By opening random doors and hoping?”

“Maybe?”

“No way,” River said. “Come on, think. _Where. Can. We. Go?”_

The Assistant blinked. The fog seemed to lift from his eyes, and he looked at her with a new determination.

“This way,” he said, and led the way back into the hallway, running in the direction that they had come. 

“Here we go again,” River said under her breath, and ran after him.

* * *

Another corridor. Another turn. Another yawning doorway. 

How long had they been running? It felt like forever.

Tecteun would find them before long. He would have to.

And he did.

River was running, the Assistant clutching one hand, when another hand caught hers in a vice grip.

River shouted, twisting around, but it was too late.

Tecteun had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed hold of her wrist, and was tugging at the Vortex Manipulator, face twisted with rage.

“Give– it– to– me!” he snarled. His eyes locked with the Assistant, who was frozen, watching River and Tecteun struggle. “And you, too!”

“No!” River shouted, kicking at Tecteun’s shins. Something snapped, and Tecteun buckled as River wrenched her arm free. He howled in pain and clutched at the limb, but golden energy was already forming a cloud around it. Tecteun wouldn’t be down for long. 

Forget getting outside, chances were they wouldn’t make it in time. They would have to find somewhere to hide, fast.

“Come on!” River yelled, grabbing the Assistant’s hand and dragging him into a side room. 

She nearly pulled him down to the floor when she saw how big and _empty_ the room was. It was nearly as big as a gymnasium, and everything had been painted white. It looked eerie, like something out of a science fiction movie. It was strange– she had been expecting something more along the lines of “storage closet”, but right now she couldn’t afford to focus on that. 

“Please work please work please work please work–” River scrambled for her Vortex Manipulator. She fumbled with the strap, and to her genuine shock, the screen lit up and blinked cheerfully at her. “Well. If your crazy mother’s good for anything it’s fixing things.” 

Quickly, she punched in a series of random numbers– the Manipulator was obviously still broken. It couldn’t get them off the planet, but it could get them out of Tecteun’s grasp.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Just as the Vortex Manipulator flashed to life, Tecteun appeared around the corner, slamming the door open, face distorted with hatred.

Everything went white.

* * *

For a moment, River feared that she had gone blind. She was surrounded, on all sides, by bright white, with no distinguishing characteristics.

Then she realized what the white surrounding her truly was.

Walls.

Walls that were white and had round cutouts in them.

River knew what this was.

The Assistant was gaping beside her, but River didn’t notice.

“A TARDIS,” she breathed. “That’s what this room was for. It was going to be a TARDIS storage room! We’ve jumped right into a TARDIS!”

“What are you talking about?” the Assistant said weakly from beside her, but River wasn’t paying attention.

She just grinned up at the central column.

“Oh, yes,” she breathed. “You know, I might win the ‘Worst Mother-in-Law Ever’ award, but it seems like our luck is turning around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left :)
> 
> What did you think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Who’s excited for the New Years ep? I know I am! I hope you guys have a fantastic New Years, and hopefully 2021 isn’t nearly the disaster 2020 was. 
> 
> I took some artistic liberty with this last chapter– I honestly forgot that we see the Doctor walking around Gallifrey after Tecteun figures out regeneration and before they run away. And by the time I realized, I had already finished, and I Did Not want to rewrite it. So, sorry about that. But hey, this is fanfiction. I'm allowed to do this.
> 
> Without further ado, here’s the story!

Slowly, River became aware that she was still holding the Assistant’s hand in a vice grip. Quickly, she let go, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Where– where are we?” the Assistant asked blankly, staring around the empty TARDIS in a sort of stupefied shock.

“Not where,” River said, reopening her Vortex Manipulator and wincing as it sent out sparks and hissed alarmingly. Well, it had done its job, and even gone above and beyond. Quickly, River stripped it off and tossed it to the side. She would fix it later, sans Tecteun’s interference. She went on. “Physically, we’re in the exact same place. The question you should be asking is _when_.”

“...What?”

“No, when,” River said, offering a strained grin. The Assistant did not return it, and River rolled her eyes.

“We’re in the future,” she said. “Your future. Well, Gallifrey’s future, anyway.”

“What?”

_Oh, for the love…_

“The future,” she repeated, trying for patience. “Your mother was right– this thing,” she indicated the Manipulator, “can travel through time.”

The Assistant seemed to have nothing to say about that, which was a first, but it gave River a moment to take a breath.

She leaned back, closing her eyes, and just… thought. Everything was rattling around, too loudly, all clamoring for attention, and it was all River could do to not scream.

The Assistant.

Tecteun.

The extra regenerations.

_Rebellious._

Wiped memories.

The vital signs.

The vital signs… 

They had been in Gallifreyan, because Tecteun had been a Time Lord all along without even knowing it. 

But was everything else on there true, too? 

“Look, how do you know me?” the Assistant asked, derailing her train of thought. “For real. How… how did we meet before? Do I just…” he touched his temple. “Do I just not remember?”

“No,” River said slowly. “No, I think this is… a different problem.”

“How so?”

River rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. “I’m pretty sure you’re the younger version of the Doctor.”

“Yeah, you said that,” he said. “You called me a doctor earlier. But I already told you, I’m the Assistant. Hello? It’s in the name and everything.”

“When I saw your vital signs earlier… and the extra regenerations…” River rubbed her head harder. This was getting complicated, even for her.

But the Assistant’s face was set. He nodded to himself, and looked her in the eye. “River,” he said, “thank you for helping me. I truly appreciate it. But I think we should go our separate ways now.”

“I’m not crazy,” she said. “I think you’re the Doctor.”

_“The–_ do you _hear_ yourself?” He slumped against the wall. “It’s not like my mother will _stop looking._ She’ll find me, and she’ll erase everything, all over again–”

He went on, but River gritted her teeth and tried to think.

The Doctor that she knew– the Doctor that she had fallen in love with– had to be much older than the Assistant. Tecteun’s work had obviously been completed a long time ago. After all, River herself could regenerate. She, too, had benefited from Tecteun’s experiments. (And _that_ was an existential crisis for another day.)

His memory had to have been wiped by Tecteun again, that much was obvious. But the Assistant was a young man, a full-fledged adult. Surely, the Doctor would have mentioned having _no_ memories of his youth. Of course, Tecteun was smart and wily. She probably had a plan for making him believe he was a normal Time Lord, now that she didn’t need his regeneration energy anymore. Either that, or she’d kill him.

Well.

One way or the other, Tecteun wasn’t going to get her hands on him again. 

River didn’t care what she broke. She was going to hide the Assistant from Tecteun. She was going to make sure he couldn’t be found.

And she already had an idea for how she was going to do it.

“Your memory isn’t going to get wiped again,” River said fiercely, interrupting the Assistant’s panicked spiraling. “Not permanently, anyway.”

The Assistant blinked at her. “Um, okay…”

“So we have to hide,” River said.

“Where?” The Assistant said. “Where, in all the galaxy, would we go? She’ll find us, River, she will. I think… I think I’ve done this before.”

River pursed her lips. “Well, you’ve never had _me_ before,” she said. “And I know where we’re going.”

“Where?”

River smiled. “My home. We’re going to Earth.”

* * *

The landing wasn’t as smooth as River would have liked. 

She blamed the Assistant.

Honestly, who decided to push random buttons in the middle of a highly-advanced machine while they were fleeing from the authorities “just to see what it would do”? Idiots, that was who. Honestly, if she didn’t believe he was the Doctor before, she certainly had proof now.

_Honestly._

Hopefully they hadn't been steered completely off course… 

River opened the door to peek outside and check, and let out a laugh despite herself. “It’s a police box.”

“Why a police box?” the Assistant asked from inside. “Actually, what even _is_ a police box?”

River found herself laughing again. “It’s just… an Earth thing,” she said. “It’s designed so that you can call for help. The TARDIS must have picked up on my thoughts– the Doctor always travels in a police box.”

The Assistant made a face. “Well, neither of us are the Doctor,” he said. “Maybe we should change it.”

“I like it like this,” River said flippantly, and the Assistant rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” he said, and vanished back inside the box.

“Oh, come on,” she said, stepping out of the box and scanning the grassy knoll. “You’re going to have to take a look outside at some point.”

There was a pause, and then the Assistant poked his head out again.

River turned and tried to look at the world through his eyes.

They had landed in a park, in some random year, though it looked to be the late twentieth or early twenty-first century, based on the outfits of the humans milling around the grass. The people were wearing colorful outfits. Jeans. Shorts. T-shirts. Very, very different from the world the Assistant had come from.

The Assistant, who had walked a little ways away from the TARDIS and was standing with his hands on his hips, inhaled deeply and frowned. “The air smells different here. Feels different, too.”

“That makes sense. It’s a different planet, after all.”

“I suppose.” The Assistant blinked around the park, ignoring the way people were eyeing him and his clothing strangely. “Green grass,” he noted. “Very strange.”

“Yeah, welcome to Earth.” River said. She started walking back towards the TARDIS. “Come on, I have an idea for hiding you.”

The Assistant gestured to the park. “I thought this was the idea?”

“It’s part of it. Come on.” River got to the door and paused.

The Assistant was still standing outside, chewing at his lip, brown eyes scanning the grass and the people.

“This planet’s species– they’re humans?” he asked.

“Yes.”

The Assistant was staring so intensely at a group of picnickers that River was briefly afraid they would spontaneously combust.

“They’re alright, I guess,” he finally grunted, and spun on his heel to walk back towards the TARDIS.

_“Alright?”_ River said. “Hey!”

She followed him back into the TARDIS.

“Look, they might not look like much, but trust me, humans are one of the greatest species I’ve ever seen,” she said. “Give them a chance.”

“Whatever,” he said. “Look, we don’t really have time to sightsee. The secret’s out. _My_ secret’s out. The key to immortality. Do you know what a deranged Gallifreyan could do to the universe, now that they can live forever?”

_I think I know what could happen better than you do._

“It won’t all be bad.” River said instead. “Good people will get that power, too.” 

“You don’t understand,” he said. “Everyone– _everyone_ – who dies because of a regenerated Gallifreyan, who dies at the hands of somebody who by all rights should be dead themselves– their blood will be on my hands. It doesn’t matter if the Gallifreyan was killing an evil person or a good person. Their lives… because of me, because I let myself be experimented on...”

He stared down at his hands, eyes going glassy.

“It’s not your fault,” River said firmly. “Tecteun would have experimented on you whether you consented or not.” (Now _that_ was a scary thought.) “You didn’t have a choice.”

The Assistant only looked more tortured. “I could have stopped her,” he insisted. “I could have talked to her…”

“But every time you did, she wiped your memory,” River said, and the Assistant looked stricken.

“They’re never going to stop looking for me,” he said again.

“...No,” River said. “No, they won’t.”

He nodded, like he had expected that. “So, how exactly is your plan going to work, then?”

* * *

“This is a Chameleon Arch,” River said, swinging it into view. 

“Looks like a torture device,” the Assistant said from where he was reclining against the wall. “What, exactly, do you want me to do with it?”

“Put it on your head.”

“Why, what’ll it do?”

“It’ll turn you into a human,” River said. “It’ll disguise you from pretty much anyone who’s looking for you.” 

The Assistant’s eyes went wide. “That’s _perfect,”_ he breathed. “She’ll never find me!”

River hesitated. “It’s… also going to take your memories.”

The Assistant’s face fell. He pursed his lips. “Oh.”

“You’ll get them back. I promise.”

The Assistant nodded, but didn’t look too happy about it. He started examining the helmet closer, sighing heavily. “All right. I trust you.”

River hesitated. “There’s one more thing.”

He turned to her. “Yes?”

“Before we do this, you need to regenerate.”

River had expected resistance, but she hadn’t quite prepared herself for the spasm of utter repulsion that crossed the Assistant’s face.

_“Regenerate?”_ he said. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” River snapped. “It’s the only way. Your mother knows what this body looks like, and you’ll be defenseless against her as a human.”

“No. I won’t do it. I’ll lay low, blend in–”

“Oh, for… listen to me. They. Will. Find. You. They have before, and you know it.”

“I’m not going to let you change my face _and_ take my memories!” the Assistant shouted. “Not again! Never again!”

River froze.

Of course, of course, of _course_ he would have a problem with that.

“What if I turned myself in?” the Assistant offered desperately. “I could go back, refuse to help any more–”

River closed her eyes. “You think that’s going to stop Tecteun? You’re not that stupid.”

His voice was anguished. “No, but–”

“She’s done it before, she told you herself. Why make it easier for her to do it?”

“I can’t do this again,” he said. “I can’t lose everything again.”

“You won’t,” River said. “I promise. You will remember. Trust me.”

His mouth worked. His gaze darted towards the door. For a moment, she saw his plan, clear as day.

_Run._

“Don’t try it,” she said, but even as she spoke, she wondered if she would be able to stop him. A desperate man was hard to catch.

His eyes darted to the door again.

“I know Earth better than you do,” she said. “I have friends here. I can fly the TARDIS.”

“I know,” he said. 

“I won’t stop you if you decide to run,” she said. “But if you do, I won’t be able to protect you, either.”

She could see the emotions warring on his face.

“So I just have to– what– hide with the humans?” he asked. “For how long? And what about you?”

“For as long as it takes,” she said. “And… I have an appointment to get to. I’ll go do that, and then I’ll come back for you. Promise.”

His eyes went wide. “You’re not staying?”

“They’re not looking for me,” River pointed out. “If they find us together, it won’t take a genius to figure out who you are.”

The Assistant pursed his lips, looking mutinous.

“I’ll come back,” River promised again. “I just– this is temporary. I’ll be back as soon as I can, and we can come up with a better plan. Tecteun isn’t going to win.”

Silence.

“Okay,” the Assistant said finally, and readied the helmet. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do this.”

River nodded. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I know,” he said, and picked up the helmet. “Ah, well. Here goes.” As he situated the helmet on his head, he paused to look at her. For a moment, she thought he really would make a run for it, but instead he swallowed hard and said, “I’ll see you soon.”

River nodded, and pressed her fingers to his temples. 

The Assistant closed his eyes as the regeneration began. The Chameleon Arch whirred and flashed and beeped and smoked.

The golden light grew stronger, brighter, blinding.

River turned away.

* * *

The woman– the Doctor– was unconscious on the floor.

Just like the Assistant, she had dark skin, and darker hair, and River couldn’t see her face but she wondered if she would have the same captivating smile.

She carried the woman out of the TARDIS. Instructed the machine to bury itself. 

Having a sentient time machine on your side was very helpful sometimes.

Then she called in an old favor from an older friend, a man who went by Lee Clayton and who River usually trusted about as far as she could throw him, but, well, Clayton had a soft spot for her– and for money. He would do this. He would lie to the Doctor for as long as they needed him to. It didn’t hurt that River had slipped some memories of him into the Doctor’s head.

Clayton was the one who had asked about lodging, and River had wanted to smack herself. Living space! What a stupid thing to forget! Stupid! Sloppy, that was what it was– how could she have forgotten? She knew how she’d forgotten– she’d gotten soft, all those years on Darillium. Plus those years in Stormcage, and those years as a professor… River hadn’t been out in the field, like a proper agent, with no address to her name, for a very long time.

She was so tired.

So she had called in _another_ favor (the Doctor had better appreciate all the sacrifices River was making for– him? her? them?) and by the time she got into the town, at midnight, with an unconscious woman on her back, she had an address for the Doctor’s new home.

* * *

It was a cozy place. Her contacts had done well.

River set the Doctor down on the bed and surveyed the apartment carefully. Her contacts had been kind enough– scared enough, really, of whatever could possess River Song to ask for an apartment and no questions asked, to be used indefinitely by a plain old human woman– to put in furniture.

River stretched out on the couch and tried to think.

She thought about Darillium. About the sadness in the Doctor’s eyes.

She thought about the Assistant, and the simultaneous young-and-old look in his eyes that was so achingly familiar.

She thought about the fear in his eyes when Tecteun experimented on him.

River tried to steady herself. _Take deep breaths._

Lee would be here soon.

_I’m coming back,_ River thought, and took an odd sort of comfort in that. Taking a final look at the woman on the bed, River took one last deep breath.

The Doctor might have a Spoiler-with-a-capital-S about her future, but she had one about his past. Next time they met up, she would have to tease him about it.

She patted her Vortex Manipulator. The TARDIS had fixed it up the rest of the way for her, which was nice of it. Too bad River had buried it in return.

Miffed TARDISes aside, it was time.

No more reminiscing.

She had an appointment to meet.

She had a Library to get to.

She tucked the Doctor into the bed. And then River slipped out of the bedroom, shut the door firmly, and let the room behind her fall into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No joke, I wrote this entire fic just to justify why Ruth!Doctor has a police box TARDIS. Sorry not sorry.
> 
> Tell me what you thought?
> 
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> what did you think?
> 
> my tumblr is @stopiwanttotalkaboutcheese, or @talkingaboutcheese. Come say hi! :)


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